Ketchum-Pleon’s full-service agency aims to please

ketchum1by Andrea Karsesnick

Exactly 90 years ago, Ketchum was founded in Pittsburgh. Today, Ketchum, which is now is a subsidiary of the Omnicom Group, is one of the world’s leading PR agencies with offices across the globe, including Germany.

It joined Omnicom in 1996 and then merged with Pleon in 2009, which is based in Dusseldorf. Ketchum covers five global practice areas: brand marketing, corporate communications, healthcare, food and nutrition, and technology, according to its website. Pleon is the largest PR agency in Europe with 39 offices; it is also the third largest company in Germany.

Ketchum Pleon in Germany as a whole has 335 consultants, marketers and creative staff members. There are 37 media relations experts, 30 editors, 20 social media experts and one research center. There are more than 3,400 Ketchum employees worldwide.

According to the staff members who met with Point Park students, Ketchum Pleon Munich is a full-service agency. It is comprised of 60 people: Fifteen people handle health care, with clients such as Bayer; 15 associates handle change, with clients such as Zeiss and Siemens; and 20 people on the corporate team handle BMW, Kodak and Dell. All together Ketchum Pleon Munich has 42 clients.

Ketchum works with a number of well-known brands such as Snapple, Barbie, Special Olympics, and Häagen-Dazs.

Ketchum works with a number of well-known brands such as Snapple, Barbie, Special Olympics, and Häagen-Dazs.

Ketchum Pleon employs many research methods, according to Diana Dorenbeck, a consultant and media relations expert and Markus Ruether, business director and expert in corporate and financial communications. The agency enlists different research companies to perform market research. Methods include internal research by conducting questionnaires within the agency, street questionnaires and additional market research by calling random phone numbers and polling citizens. Phone calls are also made to journalists to find out what they think of different companies, they told the students. Ketchum Pleon Munich seldom uses focus groups.

Ketchum Pleon Munich puts a heavy focus social media. Of the Internet users in Germany, 76 percent are registered on social media. Social media in Germany is mostly Facebook, as Twitter is not that important, according to

Christopher Langner, director of digital and media communications.

That doesn’t mean that the agency doesn’t try some Web-based creative methods to help clients. He showed the students an example of an animated video for Lefax, an anti-flatulence drug produced in Germany that needed to reach a younger demographic, consumers 30-49. Check out the link: http://www.ketchumperspectives.com/issues/digital-social-media/case-studies/farting-to-stardom-germany.

According to Ketchum’s online magazine Perspectives, the video went viral, attracting 32,000 views on YouTube and capturing the attention of the mainstream media, which inspired thousands of consumes to actually begin engaging in conversation about flatulence online and reaching Lefax’s goal of generating buzz about the product.

The Ketchum staff members also shared their media tips for success in Germany. The top tip: “We’re the home to the Brothers Grimm. Pitch a story, not a product.” Following any PR campaign, Ketchum Pleon Munich must analyze and evaluate the results.  Analytics and metrics are very expensive and more often than not, clients do not want to pay for that, Langner said. Ketchum can easily measure how many media mentions a campaign received in comparison to competitors. Analytics on social media are done by Facebook, which can be seen by the administrator of a brand page. This is vital to measuring the impact a company has on the public through the use of social media. With this, a company can tailor the messages it sends to target audiences.

DAY 11 – Ketchum and Suddeutsche

press

Süddeutsche Zeitung’s huge printing presses

DAY 11 – Ketchum Pleon and Süddeutsche Zeitung

It has been very impressive this trip that all of our hosts have been of high rank in their companies and are very knowledgeable in every aspect. We have been very lucky to hear these people talk, and I’m sure many other students would love to have such an honor. That’s why I want to thank Helen and Jan and everyone who put this all together!

As I mentioned before, BMW was a great segway into the next marketing visit. I thought the Ketchum environment was especially inviting. It kind of reminded me of the Smith Brothers in Pittsburgh. The offices were modern and colorful. It would be great to work in such a positive, creative environment.

I thought the highlight of this visit was the case study they showed us for a drug that helped with gas. It put everything that they were explaining about their company and strategies into action. I thought it was genius to work with the stigma that gas has but then relate it to the fact that everyone gets it, even celebrities. The video was also attractive and cute! I could see myself possibly going to grad school for advertising if journalism doesn’t work out for me.

Later in the day we visited Süddeutsche Zeitung was not expecting it to be the leading newspaper in Germany after we received such a confident presentation from Die Welt. The presenters seemed much more humble although not as relaxed. I took a few pictures of the slides they showed that featured charts of the few leading newspapers in the country and their circulation throughout the years. I remember researching the FAZ and its history and these charts not only matched my research, but also tied everything together. I thought it was also very interesting to hear their perspective on the FAZ, which is the most personal and accurate kind of information about a company one can get.

I also took a photo of the slides showing how people get their news, such as people get the Süddeutsche Zeitung mostly through subscription, but Die Welt readers focus a lot more on the internet. They also had a slide that basically painted a picture of the audience of the newspaper. It seemed to be that elite, educated people between the ages of 20-49, who already have an understanding and awareness of issues in the world, are the ones that pick up the paper.

Learning about the online version was also a treat, but I also felt like in the future it might benefit them to focus more on breaking the news online and then publishing it in the paper more often. I know the editor said there is some communication between online and print, but in my mind, they both need to be one in order to survive.

The communications director told us that the paper survives because it provides quality content. It is a family paper, not a full business paper like the FAZ. People pick it up for its credibility and variety. And maybe too for its innovative advertising! I thought it was great that the paper took risks with advertising, especially with BMW. I personally think risk takers set standards.

Seeing its huge presses running was also a great experience. I really enjoyed learning about the long process that happens in order to get the papers out. I thought it was interesting to know that Die Welt is also printed there. The highlight of the tour was hearing about how 9/11 affecting the presses all the way over in Germany as well as the advertising.

Overall, this was a great, informative day. I think it is so great that all of these people take the time to speak with us. I could never imagine an editor from the New York Times speaking to us. I think because we are foreign, it is like an honor to them to speak to us. Whatever the case, I am forever grateful for the experiences!

Alexa’s Blog – Day 11

The following events transpired on 5/22/13.

Sadly, today is our last day in Munich. We depart bright and early tomorrow morning for the airport to go back to Pittsburgh.

But, just because it was our last day doesn’t mean it wasn’t busy. We started off by heading to Ketchum Pleon, an ad agency, for the morning and listening to an overview on Ketchum and their work. I had never been to an advertising agency before so I wasn’t really sure how one would operate, though I had an idea of what it was like. It must be so empowering to have a huge number of talented, created minds housed together under one company like that. They had some very funny content that I could appreciate as well as a lot of work that was extremely compelling.

After visiting Ketchum, we came back to the hotel for a bit to grab lunch and a quick nap before boarding the train yet again to visit Suddeutsche Zeitung, a southern German newspaper. I feel like we spend most of our time on public transportation!

Suddeutsche Zeitung already had expectations to live up to after we heard how much they compete with Axel Springer for awards and honors. They talked to us about their history as well as the transition from print to online. The showed us some of their ads, which were so interesting and creative. There was one tactic they used called multi-sensory ads in which some elements of the ad are UV coated or have a certain texture that feels like something else. For instance, the multi-sensory ad they showed us was form BMW and showed the front of the car and the road ahead from the driver’s perspective. The dashboard of the car and the driver’s coat all had textures reminiscent of the real deal.

The ads they showed us we so engaging and expensive, but that’s how they make their money, other than subscriptions. After showing some other examples of creative advertising, we walked across the street (it was freezing today!) and took a tour of their printing presses. I had never seen anything like that before! Everything is so intricate and complex. How do things not crash and burn here? The process is so streamlined and monitored. I was impressed and mind-boggled by the process that it takes to produce all of these papers for one day. They said that these presses produce 35,000 papers per hour, but they have to keep up with the ridiculous circulation. I couldn’t believe how massive and amazing this place was.

We arrived ravenous for dinner at the Ratskeller in Marienplatz after our very packed day. We devoured our food, sang happy birthday to Johnie, and presented cards to Helen and Arnoud for all of their hard work for us. Now, it is time to pack and get ready for our long journey home tomorrow. Auf Weidersehen, Muchen!